Two former Parramatta Eels players are accused of harbouring semi-automatic weapons and possessing more than half-a-million dollars in cash after dramatic arrests in Sydney's Centennial Park yesterday.

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Meanwhile, in Damascus, security forces swarmed into the southern district of Zahra after a car bomb exploded. State television said al-Qaeda terrorists detonated a bomb in front of a Red Crescent centre in Damascus, causing one death and major damage.

Damascus province is now a key battlefield as government troops try to secure the perimeter of the capital, analysts say.

The Observatory said at least 57 people had died in violence nationwide.

The Britain-based watchdog has counted more than 42,000 deaths, most of them civilians, since the uprising began in March 2011.

In Dublin, talks among US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov and UN peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi failed to make any major decisions.

Brahimi said all three agreed the situation in Syria was "very, very, very bad".

Amid fears the 21-month conflict may see the Syrian regime unleash chemical weapons, the three discussed ways to get Syria back from the brink, Brahimi said.

The United States has been calling on Russia to use its leverage with Assad to work on a political transition, although Washington insists the long-time leader has to go.

US officials hoped Lavrov was signalling a new willingness by staunch Damascus ally Moscow to probe ways to bring more pressure to bear on Assad to step down.

Brahimi said the three agreed to work on a peace process that will be based on a Geneva accord, adopted under the previous joint UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan.

Clinton told reporters: "We have been trying hard to work with Russia to stop the bloodshed in Syria and start a political transition toward a post-Assad Syrian future."

"We very much support what Lakhdar Brahimi is trying to do. Events on the ground are accelerating," she added.

In London, Europe minister David Lidington says Britain will urge its European partners next week to amend the arms embargo on Syria to allow them to provide weapons to rebels fighting the regime.